


Pillows and Dim Sum

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Bandaids and Bulletholes [3]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, F/M, Fluff without Plot, Gen, I Don't Even Know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A triplet-centered side-fic in the Plaumenkuchen vom Blech verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pillows and Dim Sum

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!~ If you're new to this particular AU, I suggest you go read Plaumenkuchen vom Blech so that you're not lost. :) 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the fic!

* * *

**-October 25-**

Jin normally didn't travel by himself but today Cheung was home sick, Hu was busy with his term paper for the online class he was taking and they needed groceries to last them until payday. 

That meant that Jin had to go to the city's Chinatown and haggle prices with the shopkeepers if he wanted decent food. He cracked a yawn and blinked when he saw a gorgeous lady with her head leaning against the bus window next to her seat. 

She looked uncomfortable so Jin carefully tucked her against his side as he hummed Shanghai lullabies to soothe her restlessness. She huffed out a soft breath against his shoulder and happily wrapped her arms around him under his peacoat. 

It was a long ride via bus but Jin liked the public transport because it saved on gas. Jin found himself slumping on the strangely alluring woman, pillowing his face against the soft slope of her shoulder. 

He pulled away from her a bit, shaking his head to stay awake for his stop. Unfortunately for Jin his stop was the last one on the bus and he slipped into blissful sleep.

* * *

Jin jerked awake as the bus slowed to a stop directly at the entrance of Chinatown. His mutual pillow was awake and her eyes were a lovely shade of cinnamon, one of Jin's favorite colors aside from red and gold. 

"Hi. I'm your pillow buddy." Jin blurted out. She laughed, the sound rich and full-bodied as she smiled at him. "My name's Jin and this is my stop." 

"Hello Jin. I'm Ilisapie and this is _also_ my stop." She said as she stopped hugging him. Inexplicably, he missed the warmth of her arms. "You can call me Ily. What brings you down here?" 

"Grocery shopping. You?" Jin helped Ily up out of her seat, waiting while she stretched luxuriously on the bus and then again once she got off. Ily was fairly tall and her tote read 'If you can read this, I know kick-your-ass in seventeen different styles' in Cantonese. "I like your tote." 

"I'm here to eat dim-sum and drink rice wine with my cousin Zeke. Should be around here somewhere... What name did he give me again?" Ily checked her phone as Jin pulled out his grocery list. _Ugh_ , Hu wanted those terrible snacks on a stick again... Cheung had asked for citron tea from the Korean section so he'd have to walk all the way down to the Soon-Jo brother's shop for that. "Jin, do you know where this place is? We're pretty new to the city." 

"Yueng Lee's? That's in the center of Chinatown. Best dim sum in the entire town aside from Choi's." Jin liked Ily's taste in food. 

"Choi's?" 

"He's a friend of mine. His Yeye is from Hong Kong and makes the best dim sum. He passed the recipe onto Tendo when he retired from his job." Jin smiled at the thought of introducing this foodie to the Becket brothers and Mako. "Would you like to find your cousin? I'm probably imposing..." Jin's never spoken this much to anyone aside from his brothers and Tendo in years. 

"That's sweet of you but if you wouldn't mind, I could do with a guide." Ily looked at him with those beautiful eyes and Jin thought he finally understood Cheung's longing sighs after he left Mako. 

"Oh, alright. But I've got a sick brother at home who needs nursing so it's gotta be fairly quick." Jin digs around in his pocket for his phone and texts Cheung. 

_What did it feel like when you met Mako? -J_

It took a moment but Cheung had obviously just gotten up from his nap. 

**_Like I could fly. -C_ **

_Thanks. I know you're tired and need tea. -J_

**_Who is this person to make you ask questions like that? -C_ **

_... A very pretty woman. -J_

_**Uh-huh. Thought so. What's her name? -C** _

_Ilisapie. She said I could call her Ily. :) -J_

**_She's gotta be sweet. -C_**

_So far, so good. Gotta take her to Yueng Lee's. -J_

**_Shoo. And don't text me until smth major happens. -C_ **

Jin looked up from his phone to see Ily hugging a man that looked a lot like her but his eyes were a warm brown to Ily's cinnamon. 

"Is this him? The one you used like a pillow on the ride here? Hi. I'm Zeke." Jin shakes Zeke's hand, the man measuring Jin up with a searching stare that Jin shrugs off. 

"Jin. We'll be stopping at points because I'm grocery shopping but you'll get to Yeung's in time." he stated simply as he slipped between tourists and fellow Chinese to get to Wu Lung's apothecary. "Wu? You in?" 

"Ah, Jin, my old friend. Tourists? Really?" 

"She speaks and reads Canto, Wu. Not a regular tourist." Jin rolled his eyes as he drops into Shanghai slang. 

"Oh. Who's sick this time?"

"Cheung. Stupid stake-out in the rain. We caught the guy but poor Cheung came down with a bad cold. I need ginger and honey." he offered as part of the usual gossip that would be in the loop before he got to the next shop. 

"Doesn't he prefer the Korean stuff?" Wu wrinkled his nose at the mention but Jin wasn't above using other remedies. 

"Eh. I'm putting ginger in his soup. You know he loves the stuff." Jin mentioned to get Wu back on track. 

"Sure. I'll throw in a bit of candied ginger." Wu rang up his purchase easily and waved him out before turning to the next customer. 

Ily and Zeke were munching on siu mai with matching grins. They held out a stick for him and he sniffed at it. 

"You got the pork. Good choice. The stall can never quite manage to get the Hong Kong fish recipe down." he said with a nod as he ate on the move. They wove through the crowd and stopped when Jin did, taking in the sights with traditional street foods. 

"I take it if we keep eating this, we aren't going to have room for dim sum?" Ily asked after Jin got back from buying bok choy and fresh veggies from the elder woman's stall that always gave him a discount. 

"Probably not but if you walk and eat, it's not as bad. I would recommend not getting anything else or you really will be too full for Yeung's food." Jin commented as he stepped around a large group of European tourists to sidle into Soon-Jo's shop. "Wait here." 

"Good morning, how may I help you?" 

"Just some citron tea and maybe a big batch of fresh red bean paste." 

"One of your brothers is sick and the other is insisting on comfort food." Soon-Jo chuckled dryly as he packed up the requested items and slipped in Jin's favorite Korean dried seaweed. "How is Mako?" 

"Good. She's settled into the swing of the PD and we found a place that serves proper tea." 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah, _Gipsy Danger_ Café. Run by a pair of half-French brothers who are weirdly at the center of a lot of people's lives." Jin mentioned as he watched the Korean drama on the TV. 

"Hmm. The old gods have strange ways of working things out." The owner shook his head as he rang up the tea and paste, leaving off the seaweed. 

"I'll pay for all-"

"Hush. You are an old friend and an even better customer. Your patronage has kept many of us open longer than we thought we could be in these hard times. Now take your treat and go. I see you have someone to lead to Yeung's." Soon-Jo huffed as he patted Jin's hand with his much more wrinkled one. 

"Shop gossip is incredibly fast," Jin snorted as he left, rolling his eyes up to the heavens to keep from laughing. "Ready to go?" 

"This place is amazing. You're a really good guide!" Ily praised and Jin blushed at the compliment. 

"Thanks. Yueng Lee's is around the corner and to your left. Is this your first time eating dim sum?" He inquired this purely for their own sakes, knowing that it could be confusing with all of the carts. 

"No. We got some experience in San Fran and Hong Kong. Hey, before you go, can I get your number?" Ily asked, pulling her phone out of her tote. 

"Sure," Jin's never given it out to anyone but Mako or other detectives over the years so he's a little shy about it. "Here, this one's mine." 

"It's so I can text you about various places we wanted to try here. This is my number." Jin types it in and saves the name as 'Ily the Foodie' with a small grin. "Bye! I hope your brother gets better!" Ily called over her shoulder as Jin started making his way back through the crowd.

* * *

Jin made it back to their shared place in one piece and manages not to fall asleep on anyone else. 

He puttered around the kitchen, frying up Hu's bean-paste-on-a-stick as a means to tempt his brother away from his term paper as well as boiling water for the tea that Cheung probably needs based on the sound of his coughing. 

Jin coaxed Hu with food to the kitchen table and grinned when his brother hugged him close at the sight of the bean paste. He scooped two spoonfuls of citron into the hot water and stirred until the tea was done. Cheung shuffled into the kitchen in his blanket, smiling over the mug after his first sip. 

"So," Cheung rasped while Jin started the egg drop soup. "Was Ily as pretty as she sounded in your texts?" 

"What's this about a girl? Jin, you sly dog!" Jin blushed pink and hip-checked Hu back into his seat. 

"Shut up. Here, she took a selfie for her contact pic." He slid his phone over to Cheung, knowing his older brother wouldn't tease him as badly as Hu. 

"She's really pretty," Cheung murmured with a scratchy voice. Jin set down the tea and shoved Hu away from the phone screen for the third time in under ten minutes. "What happened?" 

"We ended up sleeping in a pile like kittens and she... she hugged me." Jin answered with yet another blush. "It was nice not to be pressured." 

Hu and Cheung looked at each other, sighing as they saw something Jin didn't understand. 

"You know you don't have to tell us anything more, right?" Hu reassured with a pat to his knee. "We'll respect your privacy." 

"I know." Jin hummed as he drank his black tea, savoring the simple flavor while Cheung stole some of Hu's bean-paste balls. They all cuddled on the couch after dinner and watched old B-rated Chinese films to rag on the terrible English dubbing.

* * *

**-October 28-**

Jin got a text from Ily just as he was about to park his butt into a chair after a long investigation. 

**Hi Jin! Ily here.**

**What do you know about Gipsy Danger Café?**

**The locals recommend it highly.**

_It's where my brothers and I chill out. -J_

_The coffee's amazing and the food is all hand-made_

_from scratch. -J_

**Oh. Wow. Sounds good. Can you swing by?**

Jin looked up at the clock and then looked at his brothers. "Ily asked me to swing by GD. You guys want anything?" 

"Nah. Ugh, that cold is _still_ kicking my ass." Cheung whined into the desk. "I can't even kiss my girlfriend. You know what? I changed my mind. If Tendo's still making them, I want a pork bun." 

"Ditto." Hu groaned from his desk across the way in another cubicle. "This case is driving me nuts." 

"Alright, whiney babies. I'll fetch you a pork bun each. Coffee the same as always?" 

"No. I need tea." Cheung manages around his arms. 

"Yup." Hu leaned back in his wheelie chair with a creak to see Jin at his desk. "Tell her I said hello." 

"Nope." Jin fired back with a smirk as he typed a reply. 

_Sorry about the delay._

_My brothers are idiots and are hungry._

_This'll have to be pretty quick. -J_

**That's fine. :)**

_Thanks for understanding. -J_

* * *

He stepped into the café and inhaled the warmth of the fall pastries Raleigh baked this time of year. Jin spotted Ily by the window with her vibrant red scarf draped over the back of the booth and spilling onto the seat. He ordered his brother's food, tea and coffee as delivery before ordering his usual. Jin wanted some alone time with this woman who makes him feel like floating. 

"So how do you like GD so far?" he asked softly as he holds his coffee and bun. Ily looked up from her book, her full lips turning up into a sweet smile, 

"Hey Jin! It's great. I love the place," she stuck a bookmark into her hardback novel, shoving it into a boho bag. "Are we still short on time or...?" 

"I got it delivered. Easier on me and my brothers, to be honest. I've got enough time." Jin admitted with a shrug. He peeled open his pork bun and inhaled the scent with an appreciative sniff. "This is what I was talking about. You order a pork bun yet?" 

"No but you bet your skinny butt I'm getting one now. That's perfect for the weather outside." Ily goes back up to order and the younger Hansen flushed at her teasing. "So this is Choi's work?" 

"Yeah." He bit into his bun and hummed at the flavor. Tendo really does do a good job. "They're great." Jin wiped his chin and laughed when Ily does the same. 

"So I never asked but what is it you do?" she asked after taking a couple bites and drinking what looks like hot chocolate with whipped cream _and_ marshmallows. 

"I'm a Detective with the Portland PD. We all are, actually. Drove our Instructors _nuts_ because we're identical triplets." Jin pointed out as he leaned forward. "You?" 

"Self-employed. I run a food blog and consult for restaurants around the country." Ily replied as she also leaned forward. "So I'm gonna say something and you might end up not too happy with me." 

"Go for it." Jin challenged with a wry grin. 

"I like you," She murmured as she reached for his hand. "But if you're looking for anything past this and the occasional kiss, you gotta go cutey." His smile widened as he laced his fingers with hers. 

"Well, Ily, time to let you in on a secret of my own. We're the same." Jin confessed with laughter in his eyes. Ily broke into giggles as they share space. 

"So you're ace." she managed after several seconds of giggling, her lips still upturned. 

"Mmm-hmm," he agreed with a hum as he drinks his coffee. "But not adverse to kisses or affection. The question now is do we want to try this?" 

"Of course. Honestly, if I say I'm in a relationship, a lot of people usually make a disappointed face and leave it at that," Ily said as she gently runs her thumb over the back of Jin's hand. 

"It's easier to lie about having a significant other than to say that every relationship is completely platonic. At least when you say that, they leave you alone a lot faster." Jin understood that more than anyone, having had suspects hit on him or his brothers. "Or take it as a challenge." He grimaced at that confession. 

"You too? Or I get these questions about how I can stand not having sex..." Ily rolled her eyes as she went back to eating. "But having you is the best defense against the people who have to ask those questions in the first place." 

"The ones who are trying to validate their disgusting agenda? Yeah. You mind if we take a pic together? Hu and Cheung will want to see you." Jin inquired and she grinned as she sat in his lap. They smiled for the camera Ily pulling her food and pile of stuff over to his side with a mischevious smile. She stayed where she was in his lap, actually causing a few of the single patrons to shuffle away from their display of affection. 

"Ha, Black Widow was right. Displays of affection make people uncomfortable." Ily crowed with a cackle as she pressed her cheek to Jin's to wait for Hu and Cheung's replies. 

_Dude! Mega-foxy lady alert. -H_

_You got damn lucky bro. -H_

**She's beautiful. -C**

**I'm glad you two met. -C**

**Someone who understands**

**is the best. -C**

_Thanks for the food. -H_

_Enjoy your date. -H_

She read them over, pulling back to give him a questioning look. 

"They're happy that I'm happy. My brothers are my best friends." he explained with a fond smile at the picture they send, both of them with Mako and giving the dispatcher bunny ears. Jin shook his head at their antics. "Idiots but they're my idiots and they'll love you." 

"Zeke's like that. He'll do his best to crush your hand but he won't hate you." Ily admitted as she dug into her bag to pull out her phone. "One more pic." She gave him a quick peck and he gently pressed a second kiss to her lips. That was the picture that took and Ily refused to take another shot. "I like that one." 

"Why?" 

"Cause it means you're willing to chase me."

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know how to feel about this. Feedback please~


End file.
